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United States Patent | 5,273,162 |
Riherd | December 28, 1993 |
A method and apparatus for separating high density materials from less dense materials suspended in a fluid within a conduit. A pump generates carrier fluid motion which is fed through the conduit. Solids from a placer deposit are mixed with the carrier fluid and induced through a suction hose, then into two positively sloped separating chambers that are arranged in tandem in the conduit. The first separating chamber is cylindrical in shape, and motion of the fluid through the chamber is linear. The second separating chamber's cross section shape is rectangular, with a parabolic flow path. The second stage separator floor is variably banked, with the angle of bank and curvature increasing toward the discharge end. Solids, that are mixed with the carrier fluid, are forced along the flow path by dynamic drag of the fluid. Less dense solids travel up the positive slope at a greater velocity than more dense solids. The larger and slower moving dense solids are trapped in two sumps in the first chamber. The smaller and slower moving dense solids, that were not trapped in the first two sumps of the first chamber, slip toward the inside radius and down the banked curve, and are collected at the exit end of the second chamber in a third sump. The faster moving less dense solids in the second chamber skid toward the outside wall, up the banked curve and are then discharged.
Inventors: | Riherd; James W. (Fort Pierce, FL) |
Assignee: | GAPC Corporation (Ft. Pierce, FL) |
Appl. No.: | 951001 |
Filed: | September 25, 1992 |
Current U.S. Class: | 209/13; 209/44; 209/157; 209/208; 209/226; 209/460; 209/494; 209/906 |
Intern'l Class: | B03B 007/00; 500; 906; 907 |
Field of Search: | 209/44,13,18,19,644,707,135,136,156,157,208,232,226,227,478,454,458,459,460,494 |
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